P.O. Box 1899
Yuma, AZ 85366
760-572-0213
http://www.itcaonline.com/tribes_quechan.html
The Quechan Indian Tribe first experienced an external contact with the Europeans. It was when the Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza first met the Quenchan Tribe in the winter of the year 1774. The Quenchan Tribe and Juan Bautista de Anza had a friendly relationship. Proof of the friendly relationship between the Spaniards and the tribe was the fact that when Juan Bautsita de Anza returned from his second trip to Alta California in 1776, the chief of the tribe as well as three other tribesmen journeyed to Mexico City in order for them to personally petition the Viceroy of New Spain for the establishment of a mission. The chief, whose name was Palma along with his three other tribesmen were then baptized on the 13th of February in 1777. Palma's name was then changed into Salvador Antonio. The start of the conflict however, was when the Spaniards started settling in the territories of the tribe. The Spanish settlement was said to not have gone to the hopes of the tribal members that the tribe launched a revolution from July 17 to July 19 in 1781. The revolt left four priests and thirty soldiers dead. Following the revolution was the decimation of the Spanish mission settlements of San Pedro y San Pablo de Bucuñer and Puerto de Purisima Concepcion. Because of the revolution, the tribe was punished militarily which was executed the year after. The United States government, on the other hand, engaged the tribe in warfare. The warfare was that prior to the Yuma Expedition. The warfare happened to be one of the many Indian Wars which took place prior to the American Civil War. The Quenchan people's language is known as the Yuma. The language is the native tongue of the people from the southeastern California and the southwestern Arizona, where the Quenchan Tribe is to be found today. The language is said to be spoken by less than seven hundred people who included both the young and the old speakers. The Quenchan Tribe actually belongs to the River Yuman branch of the Yuman-Cochimi linguistic family along with the other tribes, Mohave and Maricopa. The Quenchan Tribe is also known by some other names like the Yuma, Yuman, Kwtsan and the Kwtsaan. The tribe is a Native American tribe who is currently residing in the Fort Yuma Reservation located on the lower Colorado River in Arizona. Their location is on the northern border of Arizona together with Mexico. The Quenchan is one of the Yuman tribes who are known for their distinct language. The tribe lives on the reservation area which used to be a part of their ancestral territory. Their reservation has a total area of 178.197 kilometers squared and was established in the year 1884. The 2000 Census data revealed that the reservation has a total population of 2,376. The tribe currently owns the Paradise Casinos.
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